"And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." (Matthew 24:6)
It
may seem redundant for Jesus to highlight war and rumors of wars as signs of
the end of time, considering their historical prevalence since ancient times.
The Old Testament paints a vivid picture of nations embroiled in conflict. Even
in the modern era, World War 1 and World War 2 were touted as the wars to end
all wars, yet the drums of war persist.
The
New Testament prophesies forewarn of wars and rumors of wars heralding the end
of days. During a Bible study, when I sought to discuss this, a student
challenged the relevance, pointing out the enduring nature of such conflicts
throughout history. Many find a disheartening reassurance in this observation
when grappling with the New Testament prophecies.
To
reconcile what appears to be a redundant statement, one might hastily conclude
that we have been living in the end of time since Adam's sin. However, leaving
such a crucial statement in this precarious state has led to a chilling effect
on the faith of many.
When
God created humanity, He entrusted them with a battlefield commission to subdue
the Earth: "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28). The command to "subdue"
implies a military directive to engage the enemy and emerge victorious. What,
then, was the nature of the battle set before humanity, even before the
formation of nations?
Imagine being in the middle of a
horrific battle and not aware of what is going on around you. This might
seem like an unrealistic scenario, but it has been known to happen to even
battle-hardened worriers. Reflecting upon and studying the scripture requires maintaining
the proper perspective and context. Failure to do so will result in
a distorted and perplexing view of God's plan. This can lead to
self-doubt, an attribute that is essential to losing the battle.
In
the Old Testament, God worked in the natural through those he called to serve.
Often, God led his followers into battle and spilled the blood of his
adversaries upon the ground. Many of the battles fought in the Old Testament
were for advancing God's plan. The Old Testament depicts a war between
good and evil. Wars consist of many
fronts and many battles. There is the "boots on the ground type of war,"
and there is the propaganda war. One is
natural, and the other deals with the Spirit.
When
the call to battle sounded, the men did not hesitate to leave their mothers,
fathers, wives, and kin to fight for their God and country.
Judges 7:2-8 tells the story of too many people showing up to
fight. God gave Gideon a plan to reduce his force to a lean fighting
machine before going into battle. In the early years of a nation, the
people rallied around their country's flag. The flag was the
representative of an idea, a concept, or culture. When that nation,
that concept, that culture through a type of propaganda is divided, according
to Jesus, destruction is at the door.
Often,
I have attempted to quote scriptures, and before I finished, I was forced to
rethink the meaning of the scripture. As a religious society, we have
become comfortable in misquoting the scripture. Too often, we take what God
said to one group of people and apply it to another group because it sounds
good. There are three groups of people addressed within the scripture,
and a message to the Jews is not a message to the church. "Give none
offense, neither to the Jews, nor the Gentiles, nor the church of God:" (1st
Corinthians 10:32) . We need to stop quoting 2nd Chronicle 7:14
as if it is a verse on political intercession. To the Jews, it was
a natural entitlement; to the church, it was spiritual. As I have said
before, many of our quotes have made the God of our salvation seem as if he is
impotent.
As
I prepared for a surgical procedure, my mentor, a messenger of God, insisted on
me saying "Amen" to the question of whether I believe God can part
the Red Sea. For me, it is not a question of what God can or cannot do;
it is how God works. Today, I can get in my car and drive to Texas, but
will I do it? No. If I did it once, would I do it
again? Not necessarily so. Clichés and hyperbole do not
prepare us for the battle ahead.
The
church was to serve as the command center for those engaged in warfare.
Paul admonished the team: "Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the Devil's wiles. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places." (Ephesians 6:10-12) After the death of Christ and the
institution of a new dispensation, God began to work through his Spirit, and
the battle became a
spiritual entity. Paul defined the conflict that is raging around us as
spiritual.
"But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the
end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Daniel
12:4)
In
Daniel's end-time prophecies, he alluded to a time when knowledge would
increase, and many would run back and forth. During the early 1800s, man's
knowledge increased as many nations were caught up in the industrial and
mechanical revolutions. The most outstanding achievement during that era
was the invention of the steam engine. Through more than one hundred and
sixty years in the development stage, the steam engine would revolutionize how
humanity travels. For nearly 6000 years, using animals and walking
was the primary form of transportation. During the next 200 years,
humanity would travel into outer space and explore the planets. In the
process, we challenged the existence of God.
I
became aware of the war to challenge God in the early 60s, and since then, the
battles have intensified. Many others had existed before that time, but
for me, Madalyn Mays was also known as Madalyn Murray O'Hair, one of the
earlier Generals in the war against God. O'Hair is known for the Murray v.
Curlett lawsuit, which led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling ending official
Bible reading in American public schools in 1963. This came just one year after
the Supreme Court prohibited officially sponsored prayer in schools in Engel v.
Vitale. Afterward, she founded the American Atheists and won Murray v. Curlett;
she achieved attention to the extent that 1964 Life magazine called her
"the most hated woman in America." That was then; today, she is
referenced as a great thinker. These acts set the stage for the
government, knowingly and unknowingly, to enjoin the battle to declare God as
an irrelevant entity.
The
events I referenced in this article occurred within a nation that once declared
it a God-fearing nation. Its founding fathers had the audacity to proclaim that
God had shed his Grace on it. This nation supported Israel because it was the
biblical thing to do. The increase in knowledge that Daniel prophesied has
perverted this nation's core values. It has turned its back on Israel and now
proclaims itself a nation of many gods while it engages in debates on what
bathrooms we should use.
Now,
let us revisit the question: when Jesus spoke of wars and rumors of wars, was
he speaking of the conflicts between nations and peoples? Maybe we should
discard our cavalier approach to understanding the word of God and search the
scripture for the answer. When we search the scripture, we seek to prove
a preexisting idea or concept. Thus, shaping the scripture becomes
necessary to prove our point. Is it possible that Jesus was speaking of
the intensification of spiritual warfare, a flagrant attack on God?
NEXT PART II
